Poaching for ivory kills more than 25,000 elephants annually and has reached levels only seen before the 1989 international trade ban. In 2012, 668 rhinos were killed in South Africa alone. These are precipitous increases from just a few years ago and, if not stemmed, could lead to the extinction of African rhinos and elephants in our lifetime.

A survey conducted in November of 2012 in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou by the Chinese research company, HorizonKey, found that:

-- More than half of the nearly 1,000 participants (over 50%) do not think elephant poaching is common;

-- 34%, or one in three respondents, believe ivory is obtained from natural elephant mortality;

-- Only 33% of all participants believe elephants are poached for their tusks; and

-- 94% of residents agree the "Chinese government should impose a ban on the ivory trade."

Although the international trade in ivory is banned, a one-off sale in 2008 perpetuated a legal market for ivory in China and Japan. Reports show widespread abuse of the system to launder illegal ivory in China, and seizure and intelligence reports indicate China is the world's largest market for ivory.

Meanwhile, a similar survey conducted by HorzionKey in the same three major Chinese cities on rhino horn perceptions found that:

-- 66% of all participants, that is two out of every three respondents, are not aware that rhino horn comes from poached rhinos;

-- Nearly 50% believed rhino horn can be legally purchased from official stores; and

-- 95% of residents agree the "Chinese government should take stricter action to prevent use of rhino horns."

Traditional Chinese Medicine officially removed rhino horn from the pharmacopeia in China in 1993. These surveys, however, discovered that consumers are now buying rhino horn due to belief in its aphrodisiac properties and fever reducing capabilities. Rhino horn is also being used as a perceived investment and as an ornament or carving....

PAG-ASA ISLAND, Palawan – More than 300 boats carrying foreign poachers can be seen every day in the Kalayaan Island Group but could not be arrested by government forces due to lack of equipment, officials said.

A very interesting article will it work probably not elephants are just to big and poachers usually hunt the elephants i mean elephants are a massive target and there wanted for there tusks while dogs are a small fast target that can take someone down faster than an elephant also dogs are loyal and easier to take care of while elephants require a ton of food and space will elephants take the place of dogs no but will they help find explosives and poachers definitely that's all I have to say today.

A live electric wire allegedly kept by poachers to catch wild animals resulted in the death of two girls at Shanigakunta village in the Agency mandal of Mangapeta in Warangal district late on Saturday night.

Wildlife Margrit's insight:

Not only is the wildlife at risk, so are domestic animals and now even children!

WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 11 /CSRwire/ - WWF today announced Academy Award-winning actor, musician and director Jared Leto as a WWF Global Ambassador, focusing on the most urgent, pressing issues facing our planet. To start, Mr. Leto will bring attention to wildlife crime – a pivotal issue for WWF and the U.S. government. Today marks the one year anniversary of President Obama’s National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking....

KATHMANDU (AFP) - Thirteen countries which are home to the world's dwindling population of wild tigers Friday agreed to establish an intelligence-sharing network to fight traffickers, concluding an anti-poaching conference in Kathmandu.

Asian countries need to sharply ramp up collaboration on intelligence and enforcement to combat the escalating global illegal trade in wildlife and forest produce estimated at between US$50 billion (S$67 billion) and US$150 billion a year.The impact of runaway wildlife poaching has been devastating for Asia, which is losing its biodiversity, delegates heard at a symposium, Towards Zero Poaching in Asia, involving experts and officials from 13 Asian countries.

WHILE the illegal trade in ivory and rhino horn is well-documented, less well known is the trafficking of another product derived from a critically endangered species – the carved beaks of helmeted hornbills....

Wow that's a lot of dead animals to have, and 100,000 African elephants in only 2 years why is ivory so valuable that people slaughter elephants or rhinos for it but why would you crush it then let people feel it? That part doesn't seem to make much sense to me how does that help save them. Whatever i never knew how little the amount of wildlife rangers there were if its so little how would they catch and stop poachers? Think about this all the animal goods they have are what they found and confiscated theirs probably 10 times more than that smuggled in the past ten years i don't think that tigers or lions will live much longer with the threat of poachers.

Bangkok, Thailand, 23rd February 2015—Ivory traffickers be warned: the Thai authorities have a powerful forensic tool in the country’s drive to detect ivory of illegal origin entering its markets and ensure domestic traders are complying with new laws.

A collaborative project between Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) and TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, has trialed forensic DNA examination of ivory products to assess the origin of elephant ivory products commonly available in local markets. ...

The rhino population in Manas National Park faces the threat of extinction in the next two to three decades if effective management steps are not taken, a specialist group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has warned.

The Tiger Temple is famous for letting tourists cuddle with the big cats.

Oficials have seized more than 100 tigers from a Buddhist temple in western Thailand and are investigating whether the monks have illegally traded in the big cats.

Photos from the “Tiger Temple” abound on the Internet because it has famously made a point of using the big cats to attract tourists “who pet, cuddle and pose for selfies with the big cats,” reported The Guardian....

Animal poaching is a on a dangerous and violent rise across the central African region as extremist groups like the Lord’s Resistance Army and Al Shabaab are slaughter animals such as Elephants and selling their ivory tusks to boost their arsenal.

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